SECONDARY school language teacher, Brenda Coakes of Muscliff, has died at the age of 75.

Born in Duckenfield near Manchester, Brenda went to Manchester High School where she gained an interest in tennis after the Davis Cup was held nearby. The top students from the school were asked to provide translation to the French team at the event, which included Brenda.

After school, she went on to study modern languages and physical education at university, during which time she played squash and tennis for the university teams.

Her younger sister, Moira Whitehouse, had travelled to America to work for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and invited Brenda to join her.

Brenda initially passed the tests to join the firm, but a chance meeting of somebody who worked for the National Geographic magazine swayed her decision and she went to work for the publication as a receptionist.

During her two years of employment at the magazine, based in Washington, she also worked as a PA to the magazine's photographers, which enabled her to meet a number of people including filmmaker, Jacques Cousteau, and Princess Margaret.

Brenda went on to contract TB and faced with several years of medical care, she travelled back to England to receive treatment.

Her father, who served as a minister, took a post which brought the family to Dorset, with Brenda joining them and signing up to The West Hants Club.

After recovering from illness, Brenda attended Weymouth College where she undertook a teacher training course, which saw her take placements in several locations in the county.

She took on a role at St Edward's School in Poole, which is a post she filled for more than 30 years, teaching French to hundreds of children each year.

She met her future husband, Jim, in a cafe in Bournemouth Triangle in the 1960s and they were married at her father's Unitarian church in West Cliff Road in 1971 and they went on to welcome a daughter, Suzie.

Jim and Brenda initially lived in Wimborne for around seven years, before living in Charminster in Bournemouth for more than 27 years before moving to Muscliff.

Together the couple enjoyed cruise holidays across the globe, while Brenda enjoyed keeping scrapbooks of every part of her life including her places of employment and their trips abroad.

Brenda died on December 20 following a nine-months-long battle with lung cancer during which time she was cared for by husband, Jim. Her funeral will be held at Bournemouth Crematorium on Monday, January 9 at 1pm.